The Truth
by TNS and Twilight Author Girl
Summary: This is my take on what happened after the Season 2.1 finale (Game On) Summary: Emily caves and her and Riley have to tell the team their plan. Meanwhile, James attempts to get his girlfriend back. Told from Riley, James, and Emily's POV
1. Chapter 1

**Riley's POV**

I found James exactly where I knew he would be. Parkour Alley. He always hangs out here when he's not at the studio. I rounded a wall, painted with graffiti and he was there doing flips. I stopped and watched, until he spotted me and came over.

"Hey how'd solo auditions go?" he asked. I sighed,

"It… wasn't meant to be," I lied. I couldn't tell him I had messed up on purpose. He wouldn't understand, and he wasn't allowed to know the plan Emily and I had in place.

"Oh, well I thought for sure you were gonna get it," he said and smiled. I realized I was getting to comfortable with James and I had to leave,

"Listen I gotta go," I said and then turned to leave. A second later James called my name and grabbed my shoulder. I stopped and looked at him, "What?" I asked, looking at him. He held his hands together.

"I was thinking about our relationship and our break up, and I'm not down with it," he said, "I'm getting you back,"

I looked away, "You can't get me back James, it's too late for that," I told him. My feelings were so messed up. I still love him and I miss being with him, but I just don't know if I can forgive him for hurting me.

"Yes I can, and I will," James said. His hand touched my shoulder, "Look Riley, I messed up, and I'm sorry," he added, moving his hand and taking mine in his, "But I'm going to get you back," he said. I paused for a moment and looked at him. This whole time all I wanted was to hear him say that he was going to fight for me. And then he did. But I wasn't planning on letting him in that easy.

"We'll see," I said, letting my hand fall from his. He smiled and said goodbye, joining his friends again. I turned away and started my walk home. It was going to take me half an hour.

**James's POV**

About 20 minutes after Riley left, I texted my mom, telling her I would be home late. After saying goodbye to my buddies, I sat down at the picnic table. Beth sat across from me. She looked at me,

"What's on your mind?" she asked. I looked up at her,

"Beth I don't think we should be together anymore," I told her,

"You're breaking up with me?" she asked, shocked. I nodded,

"It's not working out with us, and I really just want Riley to forgive me and be my friend again." I explained.

"I get it," she said sadly, "But can we still be friends?" she asked. I nodded again.

"Sure. Thanks for understanding," I said, giving her a hug, before taking off running as fast as I could towards Riley's house. I slowed down two blocks away to catch my breath, and then walked up to the door, knocking on it. Riley answered the door.

"James? Why are you here?" she asked, backing out of the doorway. I followed her inside. She turned and looked at me as I closed the door.

"I said I was going to fight for you, and that's what I'm doing," I told her. I kicked off my shoes and followed her into the living room. She sat down on the couch and I knelt in front of her. It was like the time in the studio all over again. But this time Beth wasn't here to ruin it for me. I looked up at her. "Riles, please forgive me. I know I screwed up, and I'm sorry. You're the only one I want to be with. You're the only ne I truly love," I told her. I think I saw tears form in her eyes.

**Riley's POV**

I looked down at James. Hearing him call me 'Riles' brought back all the memories of the times we spent together. Those were the best times of my life.

"Please Riley," he begged, "I want you back,"

"James, you're dating Beth now and-" I started, but he cut me off.

"I broke up with Beth. I don't love her, Riley, I love you. And I promise I won't let anything come between us," he said, taking my hands in his. I stood up, letting go of his hands, and walked quietly towards the kitchen. I weighted my options mentally as James followed me. I could say I trust him and we could get back together. I could say I don't want to be with him and we'll ruin the friendship that we barely have left. Both my options had a good side and a bad side. I felt James's hand on my shoulder and I turned around to face him. I didn't say anything, just stared into his eyes. Something inside me made me want to trust him, but I tried telling myself I couldn't. That he would only hurt me again. James stared back at me, and I was at a loss for words. I felt my back up against the wall and one hand touched the side of my neck, while the other one moved to my side. I saw him lean in and then our lips connected. They moved as one. Fit together so perfectly. He deepened the kiss and it became rougher. But yet I still didn't pull away. His body now pressed mine right up against the wall. Both his hands moved to my waist. They were so warm. I touched his chest with my hands and then he moved his hands again. This time to my shoulders. His hands slipped under the collar of my blue blazer, which then fell, off my arms that had fallen to my side, and it landed in a pile behind my feet. We still kissed, rougher with every minute. I couldn't control myself now. I thought I had the strength in the beginning to pull away after a few seconds, but I didn't. I realized how much I missed James. His laugh, his smile, his hugs, his kisses, his body against mine. I just gave up on holding my feelings back and kissed him with all my energy I had. I think it was several minutes before we broke from each other. His body was still pressed to mine. I looked in his eyes.

"I love you so much Riles. I never stopped loving you. I'm so sorry about what happened between us," he said. I took a breath to steady myself.

"I love you too. And I'm sorry I blamed everything on you and then broke up with you," I said to him, on the verge of tears. He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He carried me to the couch and sat down so I was straddling him, then we continued our make out session.

We didn't stop until a gasp from the doorway caused us to look up. Emily was standing there, jaw wide open. I got off of James as fast as I could. Emily just turned and ran to her room. I've never seen her do that before. Normally she would have called me out for whatever I was doing. I looked at James.

"You'd better go, before she comes back and screams at you," I told James, still catching my breath. He hopped of the couch, giving me a peck on the lips, and then left as Emily descended the stairs, returning from her room. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at me,

"Was I interrupting something?" she asked, quietly.

"Uh… no," I said, fixing my hair. She sat on the couch, next to me. I saw her eyes were still red from crying. I pulled her into a hug and held her tight as she continued to cry some more,

"Riley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that stuff I said," she sobbed into my shirt. I held her tight.

"I know you didn't," I tried to soothe her. She looked up at me.

"I just can't believe how quickly they all turned on me," she said. I wiped one of her tears away.

"I'm sorry this happened," I said, "I knew I should have been in the center of this. It's not fair that you have to do this. You just got everyone to like you,"

She looked at me, "Riley the plan would never work with you in the center. How could anyone hate you? Especially James," she said. I sighed. It was true, nobody would hate me.

When Emily stopped crying, we sat there in silence. I was rerunning everything that happened with James through my mind. How could I have let it escalate that far? What would have happened if Em hadn't walked in? Would we still be making out on the couch? Or would we be do something nau-? I stopped that thought right where it was. I couldn't think that way. James would never… I would never do anything like that. Would we? I looked at Em.

"Thanks for… you know, walking in on me and James," I said, looking down at my hands. Em perked up a bit, and I looked at her, "Who knows how far I would have let it go?" I said. She remained silent. "I just… I thought I would have the strength to pull away after we kissed for a few seconds. But I didn't. I don't really know what got to me, but I have to say… I kind of enjoyed it a bit," I said. Em just stared at me.

"Well who knows?... If hadn't walked in, you two would probably be rolling around on the floor kissing each other," she said, with a tiny giggle. I smiled, turning my head away a bit embarrassed. Em's grin grew, seeing I was turning red. Then her face was serious when I looked at her, "Riley, I know you love him, and I'm happy you forgave him. Really, I am, because now you two will actually co-operate during dance. But please, be careful with him, ok. I'm your sister and I'm just telling you not to do something you will regret," she said. I smiled at her.

"I won't Em," I assured her. She looked down and returned to being silent. I looked at her for a few minutes before speaking, "Em? Are you ok? It looks like something eating you up inside." I asked her. She let out a heavy breath, and then looked at me.

"Riley, if I tell you something, you have to promise never to say a word, ok?" she asked me. I cautiously nodded. Em never really told me secrets of her own before. She only ever shared gossip with me. I braced myself,

"Everything that's happened at the studio is all my fault." She said, "Every single thing is on my shoulders. Everything since Michelle and Eldon broke up, until right now, has been my fault," she said. I looked at her, how did any of the drama turn out to be her fault?

"Em, how is it your fault?" I asked. She took a breath and began explaining.

"When Hunter arrived at The Next Step, he told me he wanted Michelle back. Back then, I wanted to get Eldon back. So we came up with a plan to break them up. Hunter challenged Eldon to the dance battle and won, so Eldon had to back off Michelle. This would give me a chance to get him back. So Hunter went off to get Michelle back. When we were locked in the costume closet, I realized I wanted to be with Hunter and not Eldon. And now even though I got who I wanted, which was Hunter, I've messed everything up at the studio. Eldon and Michelle would still be together, meaning they would have done their duet. Daniel would have gotten his solo, since Eldon would be dancing the duet with Michelle. Michelle wouldn't have left if she and Eldon were still together, and you and I wouldn't be going through with this plan because we wouldn't need a female soloist and it wouldn't matter if Amanda left the studio. I messed everything up for myself, my friends, for the entire team's chance at nationals, and for you. Riley what have I done?" she said, bursting into tears in the end. She sobbed into her hands. I couldn't believe that everything that had happened was because of her. But I couldn't be angry and push her away. She clearly felt bad about this. So I just pulled her into my arms again as she cried.

"I'm sorry all of this happened Em," was all I could say. I couldn't really say anything else that wouldn't hurt her more.

After an hour, she calmed down. I looked at her.

"Em, I think the best thing right now, would be to try and fix as much of this as you can. The least you have to do is fix what you can between Eldon and Michelle. Maybe she'll come back if you explain what happened," I told her. She nodded,

"I'll try," she said. I pulled out my phone and called Michelle. She answered on the last ring,

"Hi Riley," she said in a depressed voice.

"Michelle, could you come to the studio tomorrow? Em and I wanted to talk to you, but we can't get away from dance." I asked kindly. She sighed,

"Uh…I guess I can come. Bye," she said and hung up. I hung up my end and stared at the phone for a second. Then looked at Emily,

"We're gonna fix everything tomorrow," I told her. Then the two of us headed to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**James' POV**

The next morning, I saw Riley enter the studio, with her arm around her sister, who looked like she had been crying. I looked at Riley, who gave me a 'not right now James' look. I accepted that she didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. The two of them set their bags down, and I heard the door to the studio open again. The room went silent. I turned my head to see none other than Michelle, slowly walking towards the two girls. Everyone just stared at her as she walked over. Miss Kate came out of her office and looked at Michelle,

"What are you doing back?" she asked concerned.

"Riley called me and asked me to come see her and Emily. Apparently they wanted to talk to me," Michelle told Kate. Everyone in the room just stood and listened to their conversation.

"Actually," Riley chimed in, "We wanted to talk to everyone about something very serious. It can't wait,"

Miss Kate and the girls came over to the group. Everyone gathered around them.

"Where's Amanda?" Emily asked, looking around.

"She didn't show up today," Miss Kate said. Emily grinned a bit.

"Good," Riley said. Emily sat down on the bench and Riley stood with her hand on her sisters shoulder. "Go on Em,"

Emily looked up, "Guys, I have to tell you something… Everything that has happened at the studio since the beginning of the national's season has been my fault," Em said. I looked at Riley, confused. She moved from her sister's side and took my hand, pulling me around the corner and out into the hallway.

"I don't understand. How is that possible?" I asked Riley.

"I know, it seems impossible. But it's all Em's fault, and a little bit Amanda's and Hunter's fault too," she said. She then went on explaining what had happened.

"Poor Em," I said when she finished explaining.

"Yeah, and she feels terrible about it," Riley added. We were both silent for a moment, before I looked down at her and leaned in to kiss her. I pulled her close to me, still kissing her. After a moment, she abruptly pulled away. "James, I think we should keep our relationship on the down low for a while. It may be too soon for everyone to know…" she said. I looked down at her, in my arms.

"Ok, we'll do that," I said, giving her a quick peck on the lips before letting go of her and we returned to the group. Emily was crying a bit, most people had shocked looks on their faces, and Kate and Phoebe were furious. I stood at the back of the group as Riley when back to holding her sister.

"Michelle," Emily said, looking up at her, "I'm so sorry I did this to you. I never meant for any of this to affect the team as badly as it did. Please come back to the studio. Please," Emily begged her. Riley looked up at Michelle and gave her the same pleading eyes her sister gave. But Michelle was silent. She just stood there looking at Emily. Then she glanced at Hunter. I could tell that inside she was angry with him. She then turned to Kate,

"Can I come back Kate?" Michelle asked. Kate smiled,

"Of course," Kate said. Michelle smiled and Everyone else did too.

"Now what about Amanda?" Emily asked. The room was silent again.

"I guess I have no choice but to kick her out of the studio. If she's planning on leaving us high and dry right before nationals, she can't be on the team," Miss Kate said. Everyone agreed to that, and then we all went back to rehearsing while Miss Kate got a hold of Amanda.


	3. Chapter 3

**Emily's POV**

I was happy that everything was back to the way it should be. Well…almost everything. Yes Michelle and I were co-captains again, and she had gotten her solo back. But there were a few other problems I had to fix. I wanted to talk to Hunter and ask him if he could give Eldon his solo back. And I also wanted Eldon and Michelle to be happy again. And now that Amanda was gone, we had to fix the small group. But what was bothering me the most was James and my sister. I was happy that they were back together. But they still didn't have their duet. Giselle and Thalia did. And that would be too much for them to handle because they were two of the three members of the small group. I told Michelle to help me regroup the team. Everyone gathered around us. I looked over at my sister, who was embraced by James arms. Then back at the team.

"Ok…" I said and began my explanation of how we should straighten everything out.

Thankfully, in the end, everything was how it should be:

Michelle had her solo

Eldon had his solo

Riley and James had the duet.

And Hunter joined the girls with the small group.

Everything was good.

**James' POV**

Dance ended around 9 that night because Emily and Michelle said we deserved to go early and Miss Kate had no problem with it. I found Riley over by her cubby, putting her things in her bag. I snuck up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She giggled and turned her head, smiling at me. I planted a peck on her cheek and let go of her,

"Do you need a ride?" I asked. She picked up her bag.

"I guess. Emily left about ten minutes ago and I said I would walk," She said. I took her hand and we left the studio. We hopped in my truck and slowly drove towards Riley's house. A few minutes later we pulled up to her house and I walked her to the door.

"Come inside for a while. It's just Em and I here," she said, pulling me inside. Emily was sitting on the couch watching a movie. She saw me and waved before looking back at the tv, "We should leave her," Riley said, pulling me up the stairs. She walked into her room and I trailed a few feet behind her. She was running around, moving things off her bed and floor. "Sorry it's a mess," she said and then sat down on the bed. I sat next to her, "I probably smell like sweat from dancing," she said, smelling her hair.

"You smell fine," I told her. She let go of her hair and gave me a smile. She scooted over and leaned against the headboard, so I moved over and sat next to her, putting my arm around her. She snuggled into my sweatshirt and breathed softly. I loved when she did this. It was something I missed when we were broken up. It was a time in my life that I hated. I held Riley closer to me and she looked up at me, "What is it?" I asked. She didn't say anything. She just reached up and locked our lips together. She pulled me closer and deepened our kiss. She leaned back into the pillow as I shifted my weight onto one elbow so I could still kiss her. I was right over her as we still passionately kissed. She parted her lips, and I slipped my tongue into her mouth. She gently moaned into the kiss and finally we broke apart,

"Oh god Riles, you don't know how much I missed you," I told her softly. She looked me deep in the eyes and gave me her signature sweet smile.

"I missed you too," she said and then locked lips again. I couldn't control the lust and love I had for this amazing girl, so I kissed her with everything I had. I finally had my girl back. Now I just hoped the was no more drama until after nationals


End file.
